And Ferguson repeated his plea for United fans to respect their Liverpool counterparts when the two sides meet this Sunday.

Ferguson said: "I didn't hear it [the abusive chants on Saturday]. But everyone else seemed to, from the directors' box, and David Gill was particularly disappointed.

"But the chant is a new one. It only started after the Suarez situation [race row with Patrice Evra].

"But in the current climate, and having spoken on Friday about it, we would ask the supporters to adhere to the policy we want to adopt, which is one of complete support for Liverpool Football Club at this moment in time.

"We understand what those families [of the 96 victims] must have felt when they got that report in the week, so it was disappointing to hear that [chanting].

"It was a minority, but in our society there is a minority that wants to be heard, which is the difficult thing you've got nowadays."